If it takes more energy to produce a higher frequency, why do smaller animals produce higher pitched noises and vice versa with large animals?

Question

Elephants and whales produce pitches that are lower than humans can hear, meanwhile birds sing at very high pitches. Wouldn’t it make more sense for larger animals to produce pitches that accurately reflect the energy output that they’re capable of? I understand that amplitude is another factor in play – larger animals are capable of a much higher amplitude than smaller animals – but I still don’t get why bigger animals make lower pitched sounds.

In: 1

Answer 1

Same reason that low notes on a piano have longer strings. Longer strings support longer wavelengths. Bigger vocal chords support bigger wavelengths. The small vocal chamber of a mouse can only support small wavelengths